Taking your opt-in page to the street!

You'd be surprised. I tried something similar many years ago, albeit with a very small questionnaire. Ended up with less than 40% genuine, masses of bouncers, and a whole heap of complaints from those who were the rightful owners of some of the e-mail addresses given. It's impossible to get a clean list that way.

Some folk will tell you anything to get away asap if cornered by a canvasser.

Good luck though.

How do you plan to do this? I think it'd be a bit different giving your email to a store than to a random stranger.

People would be more willing to trust a store - after all, it's a legitimate business and they know where it's located. On the other hand, I'd be a bit suspicious if someone on the street were to ask me for my email address - first, I don't know that person and second, I wouldn't be sure I could find him again if I realized that my email address had been misused. (I'm thinking scam or fraud, not annoying emails which I can unsubscribe).

Also, how would you ensure targeted traffic, assuming you get the emails?Someone who enters a store is likely to be a potential or repeat customer.

I've never had a store ask for my contact details unless it's to enter a lucky draw or to be contacted if the store receives a new line of item - which gives the customer an incentive to participate.

One thing you could do maybe is to contact small store owners in your niche to access their email database for a small cut of the sales. (You could, say, sponsor a lucky draw). I'm not sure if they'd give you the emails but they could do the emailing for you (i.e. it'd work as if they were your affiliate).

Cheryl